Oil Retailers + Misinformation = Comedy

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Solo2driver

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Story #1-- A lady is spending way too much time in the oil isle at Wal-Mart the other day. I am with my 2-year-old and she is very attached to the "yeddoh" Pennzoil bottles. I finally ask the lady if she knows what she is looking for. '99 Accord V6, with about 115K miles on it. Cool, we just sold our '97 V6 Accord and I know that after '98 Honda specs a 5w-20, and show her the SuperTech filters after finding two of the Fram's with metal shavings in the threads. Mobil Clean 5000 is the cheapest name-brand oil, and she gets 5 quarts so she has some extra. She takes it to the counter in the back where they also do the "service writing", and the guy takes her back to the shelves to put that stuff back, and gets her a jug of Castrol High Mileage 20w-50 "cuz it has high mileage, yo!" and the bad Fram filter. I shake my head and tell her "good luck with that", and walk off.


Story #2: At Advance Auto Parts today. Looking for a turn signal bulb for my wife's Saab....lady at the counter says they don't have parts for Saabs...."oh wait, here it is on the computer. I have never heard of that car!". YIKES. Another guy comes and is lead to the oil racks by another employee, and he asks what the specials are on synthetic 5w-30 for his Corvette. The customer keeps suggesting that he needs an oil that meets the Corvette spec from GM, and the employee keeps pressing a 20w-50 dino that is featured "cuz it is better for performance". Customer gives the thanks for your help (but NO THANKS undertone), and ends up leaving empty handed.


Now, I've worked retail auto parts in a past life for several companies (CSK, Pep Boys, Napa, etc.), and it is definitely true that most employees know exactly jack squat about much of anything, but come on! If you have a secretary, she better know how to answer phones, take a message, and file paperwork. If she can't, she hits the road. Why would it be any different for this "profession"? I know that the retailers have the least payroll costs and highest margins, and the low pay attracts those that maybe can't do much else, but it probably pushes out those who know their stuff and provide good and accurate information for their customers. Probably the same with the quickie oil change places....I'd do it for the low pay just for fun (yeah!!), but for every BITOGer there is 300 Johnny Rehabs ready to shove a screwdriver through your radiator at JiffyLube (I have stories!).


Sigh. Just an observation or two. I smell a super-thread of parts store stories and oil change yarns :)
 
You're right about the employees. They should know a thing or two about their field.

I must say, though, I've seen stupid employees but I've never seen them push their opinions on customers who knew what they wanted. That's just above and beyond dumb for ANY regular salesperson.
 
I remember one time I took some used oil filters to Wal-Mart for them to recycle and the employee looked at the SuperTech I had (that I used for my ARX clean phase) and he said "Why are you using that cheap thing? You should at least use a Fram" I didn't want to get into the whole argument with him, basically just told him that I felt the SuperTech filters are constructed better and left it at that.
 
I've worked at 2 NAPAs that had been around for a long time. Both had highly knowledgeable, career parts people that had worked there 10+ years so I got spoiled with their good work ethic. When I go to a discount auto parts store (kragen, autozone, pepboys) I'm pretty sure the employees made a decision between flipping burgers or working at the autoparts store. I hate "uuuuh, it's not in the computer."
 
Although it was maybe 20 years ago, it was still funny at the time. I went to Pep Boys to purchase front brake shoes for my wife's 65 Mustang 6 cylinder. The counter guy insisted that the car had disc brakes and showed me the entry in the catalog where they were listed. After explaining that disc brakes were optional with the V8 in 65, the 6 cylinder came with drum brakes. He became downright nasty saying the catalog was right. Finally, I told him to pull the part number from the catalog and bring them to the counter. He did, and I opened a box of brake shoes. As I walked away with the shoes out if the box and in my hand I said "sure enough, this looks like a set of disc brake pads". I suspect that even then he didn't realize how wrong he was.
 
At least the lady with the Accord is in TX with that 20w-50 molasses. Could you imagine a 99 Accord with GTX HM 20w-50 in the upper midwest in January?
 
I've had the exact OPPOSITE problem occur when I worked at WM two years ago. Guy wants to get the oil changed on a late-1980's VW Golf. He wants us to put GTX 20W-50 in it. I was writing up the order, so I gently suggested that 20W-50 was probably a bit too thick for the engine, and he should go w/something like 10W-30 instead.

He says its a high-mileage engine, we were going into summer, so he wants 20W-50 in it. He says he is a VW mechanic who just can't work on his car at the moment, so could we do it. He's very insistent, and seems to know what he wants, so I write it up to put the 20W-50 in it.

The guys in the shop won't touch it. Say you should never put oil that thick in an engine, that it should be 10W-30, and that's only what they'll put in - they're not going to be responsible for damage it may cause.

So the customer comes back for his car, and I explain I can't get the techs to do it, b/c they've never heard of using 20W-50 in a normal car. Guy goes balistic, screaming at us, and the manager that he knows e=what he is doing, and we have to do it.

Finally, the manager capitulates, and makes ME do the change, with the guy watching from the bay doors, so I don't put any of that '10W-30 [censored]' in his precious VW. Customer is somewhat nice about it, saying he doesn't expect dumb techs like us to understand how fine auto like VW's work, and that we should learn to work with 'real' vehicles....
 
Poor guy. It's bad enough to be stupid, but I would imagine that to be stupid and think you know everything must make the world a very scary place.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
I've had the exact OPPOSITE problem occur when I worked at WM two years ago. Guy wants to get the oil changed on a late-1980's VW Golf. He wants us to put GTX 20W-50 in it. I was writing up the order, so I gently suggested that 20W-50 was probably a bit too thick for the engine, and he should go w/something like 10W-30 instead.

He says its a high-mileage engine, we were going into summer, so he wants 20W-50 in it. He says he is a VW mechanic who just can't work on his car at the moment, so could we do it. He's very insistent, and seems to know what he wants, so I write it up to put the 20W-50 in it.

The guys in the shop won't touch it. Say you should never put oil that thick in an engine, that it should be 10W-30, and that's only what they'll put in - they're not going to be responsible for damage it may cause.

So the customer comes back for his car, and I explain I can't get the techs to do it, b/c they've never heard of using 20W-50 in a normal car. Guy goes balistic, screaming at us, and the manager that he knows e=what he is doing, and we have to do it.

Finally, the manager capitulates, and makes ME do the change, with the guy watching from the bay doors, so I don't put any of that '10W-30 [censored]' in his precious VW. Customer is somewhat nice about it, saying he doesn't expect dumb techs like us to understand how fine auto like VW's work, and that we should learn to work with 'real' vehicles....


All well and good but the VW owner's manual probably calls for 20w50. My daughter's '96 Jetta 2.0 specs 15w40 or 20w50 just as my BMWs do. All one has to do is look as the viscosity chart. Why all the hate for 20w50?
 
No hate for 20W-50 here. To be truthful, I had no problem putting that oil in his car. I understood his reasons, and knew enough to know that VW's tend to work well with thicker oils.

Problem is, WM is so scared of getting a claim for an engine wrecked from the wrong oil, that they basically think the thickest oil that should EVER go in a car is 10W-30. The techs are taught this, and anything outside of that is a no-go.

I would have quietly done the work, but I was 'on the desk', not in the garage, and had to hand the work order to someone else to do it. they saw the 20W-50, and said forget it. All of them.
 
There's something about the automotive business that brings out the know-it-all arrongance in people.

My experience is different. I run into a lot of knowledgable and helpful people in the auto supply stores. Some of them REALLY know their stuff. I can only guess that it's because I live in the Motor City and the car culture permeates throughout around here. Even many of the ladies are knowledgeable about auto maintenance.
 
Originally Posted By: Ken E.
Why all the hate for 20w50?


No hate, just the wrong application both times.

PS-- it was 39 degrees this morning in Houston...not "cold", but the temp is coming down these days.
 
Many of the people working at auto part stores would probably asking customers if they "wanted to Supersize it for 29 cents" if they weren't working there. Don't expect them to know any thing about oil.
 
I just bought 5qts of Pennzoil 10w30 at autozone the other day so I could do an oil change on the stang. I put the quarts on the counter, the kid at the register hesitated and asked if I was "sure" I wanted to buy Pennzoil... I said "Yup", and he suggested I buy something else. I asked him "What do you like or suggest?" He said "anything but pennzoil, thats the worst oil you can use..." I giggled ad told him that it's good stuff and I've been using it for years. He didn't believe me. I did get the pennzoil... He asked if I needed a filter, I said "No, you guys don't sell WIX, so I have to get it elsewhere"
 
Originally Posted By: Solo2driver
Originally Posted By: Ken E.
Why all the hate for 20w50?


No hate, just the wrong application both times.

PS-- it was 39 degrees this morning in Houston...not "cold", but the temp is coming down these days.


Getting a bit colder here too. It'll hit 24F tonight, but then the high will reach 62 and sunny. Go figure!
 
Originally Posted By: 1kickbuttranger
I just bought 5qts of Pennzoil 10w30 at autozone the other day so I could do an oil change on the stang. I put the quarts on the counter, the kid at the register hesitated and asked if I was "sure" I wanted to buy Pennzoil... I said "Yup", and he suggested I buy something else. I asked him "What do you like or suggest?" He said "anything but pennzoil, thats the worst oil you can use..." I giggled ad told him that it's good stuff and I've been using it for years. He didn't believe me. I did get the pennzoil... He asked if I needed a filter, I said "No, you guys don't sell WIX, so I have to get it elsewhere"
If you really wanna mess with him just ask what his personal UOA's look like. Then just scream Backstreet Boys rule and give him a high five.
 
Once it got to the valve cover it wouldn't work its way back down until spring.

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
At least the lady with the Accord is in TX with that 20w-50 molasses. Could you imagine a 99 Accord with GTX HM 20w-50 in the upper midwest in January?
 
I bought Valvoline Synpower 6-7 weeks ago at Kragen for sale price of $3.49/qt and $18 rebate for 6 quarts. A store nearest home didn't have 5W20, to get the sale price and rebate I had to buy 10W30. I went to the second store today to exchange 10W30 to 5W20, the lady asked which car I am going to use 5W20 for, I told her Honda. She said newer Honda and Toyota are needed to use thinner oil to get better gas mileage, 10W30 is too thick. She also said German cars like to run with thicker oil such as 5W40 or 10W40.

She knows oil and cars better than the general public !!!
 
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